Shadows in the Thaw

As the first spring thaw began to melt the mountain glaciers, a minor disturbance threatened the western border of the Silverwood Valley. A band of seventy rogue mercenaries—former enforcers of Elder Malakar who had refused to lay down their arms—attempted a desperate raid on a northern grain storehouse near the Blackwood Pass. Led by a scarred outlaw named Valen, they hoped to seize supplies and retreat into the southern badlands.…